Aggregate spreader



Jan. 9, 1940.

W. J. SLAV|N AGGREGATE SPREADER FiledOCt. 18, 1958 s 22 e"/,Z 24 34 E u I INVENTOR. W/flmm JJ/m m ATTORNEY.

W f/ q as shown particularly in Fig. 2. Each of the vertical bars 8 has a slot 23 to receive a bolt 22, and the bolts passing through the apertures in the bar 2| pass through the slots 23 and by loosening the nuts on these bolts the plate may be raised or lowered to vary the height of the lower flange of the bar 2| from the road surface. To adjust the striker plate vertically, a bolt 34 is inserted through apertures provided therefor in both flanges of the channel bar l8 as shown in Fig. 4 and a collar. 35 is secured to each bolt beneath the top flange. This allows rotation of the bolt but prevents vertical movement thereof in either direction. through the flange 2| of the striker plate and a nut 36 is welded or otherwise secured to the flange 2| for each bolt so that as the bolts arerotated the nuts are caused .to travel up or down the threads to raise and lower the striker plate.

The striker plate 29 is further provided with a vertical slot 2d at the center and a bolt 25 extends through the channel bar l8 and the slot 2 3 thus supporting the striker plate 213 in its mid-section. For adjustment, the bolts 22 and ,25 are loosened and the bolts 34 may be turned to raise or lower the striker plate to the desired position, at which time, the bolts 22. and 255 may be tightened to lock the striker plate in position.

By use of this angle bar H at the lower edge of the striker plate, there is a fiat under surface 26 as shown in Fig. 3 that forms the top surface of the deposited material and while the material may pile up to a much greater depth within the spreader it will of necessity only feed out of the spreader as the spreader is moved by the dump truck and as the material is held within the side walls a and 2), these Walls form the vertical edges of the deposited row of material and the striker bar face 2S forms the top surface and thus provides for a practically uniform cross section of material deposited at any point of the road surface.

In depositing the material from the truck into the aggregate spreader, the tail gate 3 of the truck is set to the desired opening by means of a chain Slshown in Fig. 1 and the body is tilted to its maximum angle. By regulating the position of the tail gate 3, the flow of material per unit of time may be controlled to secure a greater or less rapidity of flow of material into the aggregate spreader.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that the aggregate spreader as associated with a dump truck may deposit a variable volume of new material in relation to the salvaged material on the road bed.

In building oil mix and stabilized roads by the road mix or travelling plant method, it is de sired to conserve all possible utilizable material and thus the method of road building which may be pursued in the use of my improved apparatus and associated with a dump truck after the general manner shown is as follows:

Firstly, gravel roads are usually covered with more or less loose gravel and are rutted especially after a period of use in which re-surfacing is required. Therefore, my improved method involves firstly the scraping of the road bed by scrapers usually used for this purpose to secure an even surfaced hard bed. This loose aggregate is scraped into a windrow on the road and is hereinafter termed salvaged material. It is important that the exact required amount of new.

and salvaged aggregate be uniformly placed upon the road bed before the application of the bitu- The lower end of the bolt extendsminous or other binder. My aggregate spreader straddles the windrow of the salvaged aggregate and new aggregate from the dump truck is discharged into the aggregate spreader as it is moved forward. The adjustable gate or striker plate 29 is set to permit the required amount of new and salvaged aggregate per lineal foot of road surface to pass.

As the dump truck and aggregate spreader are moved forward over the windrow, the new'material from the dump truck is addedto the windrow of salvaged material and as a little more material is maintained in the aggregate spreader than is spread on the road, the full volume of aggregate per lineal footof road is deposited on the road bed irrespective of What the proportionate volume of the salvaged material and new material may be. Thus, if a portion of the windrow is narrow, a greater amount of new material is automatically added at this point while if the windrow is wide a less amount of new material is added. In order to accomplish this result, it is necessary that the tail gate be carefully set to keep the aggregate spreader practically full of materialin order that a uniform Width and height of aggregate may be produced from the combined salvaged and added aggregate.

In order to hold the aggregate spreader down firmly on the road surface and prevent the aggregate from working out under the runners I0 and causing the spreader to climb up on the loose aggregate, I have provided a pair of angle iron members 38 and 39 shown more particularly in Figs. 3, 4 and 5. Each angle iron member 38 and 39 is provided with a flat metal strip 40 secured to one flange thereof and extending outwardly into the spreader. Each of these angle iron members is pivotally supported on a bolt 4| mounted in the side plates l2 and the correspending side plates ii are provided with apertures :12 at the opposite end of the respective angle iron member through which a bolt 43 may be inserted to secure the rear end of the respective angle iron member inplace. By turning either angle iron member on its pivot 4| the bolt 43 may be secured in any one of the series of bolt holes 32 to vary the angularity of the angle iron member and plate 4i). These two plates ll; extending at an angle as shown are buried in the aggregate when the aggregate spreader is filled and as the aggregate spreader is drawn forward the Weight of the aggregate moving up the inclined metal strips 4i) holds the spreader firmly down to the road surface and prevents any tendency of the spreader to climb or move upwardly over the loose aggregate. These metal strips as may be adjusted in angularity by means of the bolt holes 42 to provide the desired pressure to hold the spreader down to the road surface as it is drawn forward by the dump truck. This produces the effect of adding considerable weight to the spreader as the plates All move through the aggregate and insures the spreader remaining at the level of the road surface and.

- surface which is one of the most common causes of failure of the bituminous road surfaces or road surfaces of the oil mix type. The bitumen is finally applied to the spread aggregate at a uniform rate in the usual manner which requires a uniform quantity of aggregate per lineal foot of road surface to secure a road surface containing a uniform percentage of bitumen.

Itis also to be noted that the channel bar 18 is supported from'defiection in its mid-section by means of the bars 30 and 3!, the bar 30 being attached at 32 to the top flange of the upper frame element 6 of the side b and the other bar 3! 'is likewise attached to the top member 6 of the side a. The opposite ends of these bars extend to and are jointly bolted by means of a bolt 33 to approximately the center of the top flange of the member I8 and thus supportthe member I8 and side walls a and b from material deflection when the device is dragged along a road and practically full of aggregate.

It is to be noted that the device may be easily disassembled and moved from one job to another and'saves labor and material in road building.

It is believed evident from the foregoing that the apparatusnamely, the dump truck and aggregate spreader associated therewith by which dump truck the aggregate spreader is moved over salvaged aggregate and additional aggregate added as' the'aggregate'spreaderis moved to thereby secure the desired uniform volume of aggregate per lineal foot of road surface, that, by the features of construction of the aggregate spreader and association with the dump truck and body, the material is prevented from discharging from the dump body to outside the confines of the walls of the aggregate spreader, that the aggregate spreader is firmly held down to the road surface as it is drawn through the aggregate and that the various features and objects of the invention are attained by the construction and arrangement of the parts as described and utilized in my improved method of forming a road surface.

Having thus fully described my invention, its utility and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: r l

1. A spreaderfor use in distributing aggregate upon a prepared road surface, comprising a rectangular box-like structure having side walls and a rear wall and being open at the bottom, top and front, the rear wall including an adjustable end gate, means for adjusting the end gate vertically to vary the distance of the lower edge from the ground surface, an angle iron member pivotally 'on the ground surface,

iron member and arranged to be secured in any one of said apertures, the apertures being arranged to vary the angularity of the angle iron member on the side-wall and a plate secured to each angle iron member and extending inwardly from the side wall at a right angle to the plane thereof, the arrangement-being such that as the spreader is drawn through the aggregate the aggregate is caused to ride up on the sloping plates.

2. A spreader for use in distributing aggregate upon a prepared road surface, comprising a rec-'- tangular box-like structure having side walls and a rear wall and being open at the top, bottom and front, the rear wall including an adjustable end gate, means for adjusting the end gate vertically to vary the distance of the lower edge from the ground surface, a pair of angle iron members extending lengthwise of each side wall, a plate secured to each angle'iron member and extending inwardly from the side wall, means for adjusting one end of each angle iron member upwardly or downwardly to vary the slope of the angle iron members and plates longitudinally of' the side walls, the arrangement being such that as the spreader is drawn through the aggregate the aggregate riding up the sloping plates holds the spreader down onto the road surface.

3. A spreader for use in distributing aggregate upon a prepared road surface, comprising a rectangular box-like structure having side walls and a rear wall and being open. at the top, bottom and front, the, rear wall including an end gate, means for adjusting the end gate vertically to vary the distance of the lower edge from the ground surface, a plate like element on each of the opposite side walls each extending inwardly therefrom toward the other, means pivotally supporting the forward end of each of the plates on the respective side walls near the lower edge, said platesupon a prepared road surface, comprising a rectangular box-like structure'having side walls and a rear wall and being open at the top, bottom and front, the rear wall comprising an 'end gate, means for adjusting the end gate vertically to vary the distance of the lower edge from the ground surface, and a memberv adjustably secured to the inner side of each side wall and extending inwardly at a right angle to the plane of the side wall, the two said members being in substantially parallel relation and: being upwardly inclined from the forward open end of the spreader to ward the rear and having upper faces on which the material entering the spreader may ride tothereby maintain the forward end of the spreader WILLIAM J. SLAVIN. 

